Blog Roll

Improv at the Museum: Story Pirates Q&A

The Story Pirates will perform Museum-themed stories written by kids. Photo courtesy of Story Pirates. Click to enlarge.

On Saturday, February 4, the Story Pirates, a media and arts group that celebrates the words and ideas of young authors through comedy, will bring kids’ stories about the Museum to life by acting them out on the stage. Story Pirate Sam Reiff-Pasarew recently answered a few questions about the upcoming production, Story Pirates: My Museum Story.

What will the Story Pirates perform at the Museum?

Sam Reiff-Pasarew: We’ll be performing a sketch comedy show based on stories written by kids. We asked kids at the Museum’s SpaceFest! and after-school programs to submit stories that take place at the Museum, and our actors are adapting those stories into live theater with costumes, props, music, and puppets. We’ll also perform some of our most popular stories written by kids across the country.

What’s the challenge of live theater?

Reiff-Pasarew: Live theater takes a lot of energy, but it’s a great opportunity to engage with the kids and let them participate in the show. In addition to the stories we rehearse ahead of time, we also perform a story at the show that is totally improvised based on suggestions from kids in the audience. And the most important live interaction is at the end of every performance when we bring the kids who wrote stories up on stage to take an author bow.

What’s the best part about working with kids?

Reiff-Pasarew: Kids never run out of ideas. There’s a non-stop flow of amazing, funny, creative, thoughtful writing for us to adapt. We have the best material in the world!